In this document, the Commission grants a request to exempt package delivery notifications from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's (TCPA) restrictions on autodialed and prerecorded calls and messages to wireless telephone numbers, as long as consumers are not charged and may easily opt out of future messages if they wish, among other pro-consumer conditions. Congress gave the Commission the authority to exclude from this prohibition calls and texts that are not charged to the called party, subject to conditions necessary to protect the called party's privacy rights. This action is necessary to allow wireless consumers to receive package delivery notifications that will be welcome both as a convenience and as a way to guard against package theft.

47 CFR 64.2103, 64.2105, 64.2107, and the information collection in paragraph 67 of this Report and Order, which contains information collection requirements published at 78 FR 76218, December 17, 2013 are effective on March 4, 2015.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Commission's Report and Order (Order) WC Docket No. 13-39, FCC 13-135. This document is consistent with the Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the requirements.

This rule corrects an amendment that contains new or modified information collection requirements that will not be effective until approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

The Commission published in the Federal Register of December 10, 2014, a document concerning an Order on Reconsideration ( Order ) affirming the Commission's commitment to ensuring that high quality telephone service must be available to all Americans. In the Order, the Commission established rules to combat extensive problems with successfully completing calls to rural areas, and created a framework to improve the ability to monitor call problems and take appropriate enforcement action. In the Order, the Commission denies several petitions for reconsideration that, if granted, would impair the Commission's ability to monitor, and take enforcement action against, call completion problems. The Commission does, however, grant one petition for reconsideration because the Commission finds that modifying its original determination will significantly lower providers' compliance costs and burdens without impairing the Commission's ability to obtain reliable and extensive information about rural call completion problems.

Effective January 9, 2015, except for amendments to §§ 64.2101, 64.2103, and 64.2105, which contain new or modified information collection requirements that will not be effective until approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

This document affirms the Commission's commitment to ensuring that high quality telephone service must be available to all Americans. In the underlying Order, the Commission established rules to combat extensive problems with successfully completing calls to rural areas, and created a framework to improve the ability to monitor call problems and take appropriate enforcement action. In the Order on Reconsideration, the Commission denies several petitions for reconsideration that, if granted, would impair the Commission's ability to monitor, and take enforcement action against, call completion problems. The Commission does, however, grant one petition for reconsideration because the Commission finds that modifying its original determination will significantly lower providers' compliance costs and burdens without impairing the Commission's ability to obtain reliable and extensive information about rural call completion problems.

2014-10-30; vol. 79 # 210 - Thursday, October 30, 2014

79 FR 64515 - Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Commission's document Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities ( VRS Reform Report and Order ). This document is consistent with the VRS Reform Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

Effective December 22, 2014, except for terminations of waivers of §§ 64.604(a)(3)(vi)(B) and (C) of the Commission's rules, which shall become effective on October 21, 2014.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

In this document, the Commission eliminates certain waivers of the telecommunications relay service (TRS) requirements that are no longer necessary, given advances in communications technology. At the same time, it extends certain existing waivers of mandatory minimum standards for specific providers for which the provision of certain TRS features is technologically infeasible at this time. The Commission also eliminates certain TRS requirements that are either not applicable or technically not feasible, while ensuring that TRS consumers continue to have access to communications services that are functionally equivalent to voice telephone services. Lastly, the Commission eliminates an annual reporting requirement for TRS providers. These actions provide regulatory clarity and reduce administrative burdens on both TRS providers and the Commission and ensure that the TRS mandatory minimum standards are applicable and technologically appropriate for each type of TRS.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

Submit comments on or before June 5, 2015. Submit reply comments on or before June 22, 2015.

47 CFR Parts 36, 42, 54, 63, and 64

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) initiates a rulemaking that seeks to update the Commission's rules to better reflect current requirements and technology by removing outmoded regulations from the CFR. The Commission proposes to update the CFR by eliminating certain rules from which the Commission has forborn and eliminating references to telegraph service in certain rules. The Commission would clarify regulatory requirements, and modernize our rules to better reflect the state of the current telecommunications market.

In this document, the Commission grants a request to exempt package delivery notifications from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's (TCPA) restrictions on autodialed and prerecorded calls and messages to wireless telephone numbers, as long as consumers are not charged and may easily opt out of future messages if they wish, among other pro-consumer conditions. Congress gave the Commission the authority to exclude from this prohibition calls and texts that are not charged to the called party, subject to conditions necessary to protect the called party's privacy rights. This action is necessary to allow wireless consumers to receive package delivery notifications that will be welcome both as a convenience and as a way to guard against package theft.

47 CFR 64.2103, 64.2105, 64.2107, and the information collection in paragraph 67 of this Report and Order, which contains information collection requirements published at 78 FR 76218, December 17, 2013 are effective on March 4, 2015.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Commission's Report and Order (Order) WC Docket No. 13-39, FCC 13-135. This document is consistent with the Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the requirements.

This rule corrects an amendment that contains new or modified information collection requirements that will not be effective until approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

The Commission published in the Federal Register of December 10, 2014, a document concerning an Order on Reconsideration ( Order ) affirming the Commission's commitment to ensuring that high quality telephone service must be available to all Americans. In the Order, the Commission established rules to combat extensive problems with successfully completing calls to rural areas, and created a framework to improve the ability to monitor call problems and take appropriate enforcement action. In the Order, the Commission denies several petitions for reconsideration that, if granted, would impair the Commission's ability to monitor, and take enforcement action against, call completion problems. The Commission does, however, grant one petition for reconsideration because the Commission finds that modifying its original determination will significantly lower providers' compliance costs and burdens without impairing the Commission's ability to obtain reliable and extensive information about rural call completion problems.

Effective January 9, 2015, except for amendments to §§ 64.2101, 64.2103, and 64.2105, which contain new or modified information collection requirements that will not be effective until approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The Federal Communications Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

This document affirms the Commission's commitment to ensuring that high quality telephone service must be available to all Americans. In the underlying Order, the Commission established rules to combat extensive problems with successfully completing calls to rural areas, and created a framework to improve the ability to monitor call problems and take appropriate enforcement action. In the Order on Reconsideration, the Commission denies several petitions for reconsideration that, if granted, would impair the Commission's ability to monitor, and take enforcement action against, call completion problems. The Commission does, however, grant one petition for reconsideration because the Commission finds that modifying its original determination will significantly lower providers' compliance costs and burdens without impairing the Commission's ability to obtain reliable and extensive information about rural call completion problems.

Comments are due on or before January 5, 2015. Reply comments are due on or before January 20, 2015.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on additional measures it could take to ensure that interstate and intrastate inmate calling services are provided consistent with the statute and the public interest and the Commission's authority to implement these measures. The Commission believes that additional action on inmate calling service will help maintain familial contacts stressed by confinement while still ensuring the critical security needs of correction facilities of various sizes.

2014-10-30; vol. 79 # 210 - Thursday, October 30, 2014

79 FR 64515 - Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Commission's document Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service Program; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities ( VRS Reform Report and Order ). This document is consistent with the VRS Reform Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

Effective December 22, 2014, except for terminations of waivers of §§ 64.604(a)(3)(vi)(B) and (C) of the Commission's rules, which shall become effective on October 21, 2014.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

In this document, the Commission eliminates certain waivers of the telecommunications relay service (TRS) requirements that are no longer necessary, given advances in communications technology. At the same time, it extends certain existing waivers of mandatory minimum standards for specific providers for which the provision of certain TRS features is technologically infeasible at this time. The Commission also eliminates certain TRS requirements that are either not applicable or technically not feasible, while ensuring that TRS consumers continue to have access to communications services that are functionally equivalent to voice telephone services. Lastly, the Commission eliminates an annual reporting requirement for TRS providers. These actions provide regulatory clarity and reduce administrative burdens on both TRS providers and the Commission and ensure that the TRS mandatory minimum standards are applicable and technologically appropriate for each type of TRS.

Comments are due on or before November 20, 2014, and reply comments on or before December 22, 2014.

47 CFR Part 64

Summary

In this document, the Commission issues a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeking comment on amending the definition of Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) in the Commission's rules to conform to changes made to this definition by the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), which allows compensation for TRS calls between two or more individuals with disabilities. The Commission also seeks comment on eliminating as a mandatory minimum standard the requirement that TRS providers provide voice-carry-over to voice-carry-over (VCO-to-VCO) and hearing-carry-over to hearing-carry-over (HCO-to-HCO), subject to exceptions for Captioned Telephone Service (CTS) and Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), as HCO-to-HCO and VCO-to-VCO calls would not require a communications assistant (CA) to provide functionally equivalent communication. These proposals are made to ensure that the intent of Congress in enacting the CVAA is implemented and that the mandatory minimum standards imposed for TRS are applicable and appropriate for each type of TRS to which they are applied.